The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1887-11-13
BANG! COMES THE SHOW.
SOME INTERFERING POINTS ABOUT 4
WEsTERN THEATRE BOAT

NEWPORT, KY, Nov. liza little ton
FOUNDER on the hurricane deck OF the mos
unique craft afoat on Western waters otter
fires shot heard round whole county tt
booming. coming at short intervals betweon
and o'clock in tho morning. In It's season, q,
almost any point along the lower Mononga'
hela. tho Kanawha, the Ohio and the whole
lower Mississippi valley wakes the small
townsman up and makes him hustle. 1t talks
to him In as stirring tones as those OF the mid
night gun which spoke to the people Of Brus-
soils. Ittells him the theatre has come to town
Yes" said Mr.. A. d. French wiry. full
whiskered. gritty little man, as he lighted the
cannon's short fuse with Q match, yes the
people all know what the noise means. I have
been patrolline the rivers with theatre boat
for thirty years, and while am probably I'M
known out OF tho Mississippi valley. will ven-
ture to say that thore are few river men better
known in It."
II usually mako my start early In May. from
Rice's Landing at the fifth pool on the Monon-
gahola, and work my way down tho rivers
never failing to 60 up the Kanawha, whore tho
coal minors with their whole families will see
the show II It takes their last copper-as far os
New Orleans. Wherever we see a church we
tie up and blaze away Tho result is almost
certain II the weather is good. Wherever
l
scattered settlement, and anything In the ma
ture OF novelty coming to one OF these ham,
let's will be more widely advertised by word Of
mouth In day than IN Eastern man would
believe possible.
| I'VE can accommodate 400 people In the
| auditorium this season, and it is more prob
able that we will have empty chairs Mt the
larger towns than at the baro landings sim
| ply because the larger tho village the moro
varied l. its supply Of amqsements; while the
sonsr sS an Is sfKean OF hs
which they enter. at twenty-five cents each,
Il I the SSna
before the show OPP opens They viii sit IN the
chairs and stare Ct the dr9p curtain; family
Is You might hear Clock tick ali over the
boat. sometimesa I9ke will take one Of them
cant help giving q loud laugh in the early part
81 the evening. When he does he collapSes
S%Is T5sf h.a
It; fore God couldn't help I'll! and until tho
rest Of the audience warns up he is a picture
:" hut when the field hand does warm up no
makes the finest audience on the river. Every
Is miracle. Ny wife does saek-wi wire act Sa.
and ends VI. with some fancy shooting at glass
balls from The tho swaypg wire The 6eFross
them n s has
abont d he es Me s6e ns what
you see-a bateau. or fiat boat, 40 feet long
S ss w snd ve oS il s e1ra se
bateau Uder this one cabin FOOT are one ne box
Containing table That viii seat thirty peops
one kitchen. one sitting room for the PLAYERS;
Of ee and 1s u supply drop 81 scenes and
flies;. and lastly, an auditorium. lighted by
gasoline amps which hh Tl seat $50 pe9pie and
o ave-foot hold wherein We store trunks prop
critics. and baggage: Above on the hurricane
While. Of course, strictly speaking, the
proved steamboat Style BY wheel, instead H Of
the usual sweeps. In cases where towing is
necessary. that is. when we want to make quick
time. or ascend u tributary river, We pass our
line to my, little steam launch. which always
U.S. and she makes n, us Fave
quite as expensive rs Rstern-w wheel boat would
be: with heavy engines: but as It Is we are far
moss ness The steam launch can 20 ahead Of US
II necessary, and advertise our coming, or all
hands can climb aboard of her and take day
narrow Southern rivers and bayous-on hunt
ing or fishing excursions-riyers so tortuous
that no large steamboat could possibly navi-
mot course ours is 1Ss sshIakesspeFean lay
out d not deH IN oHr Ts5
as a sketch-or sometimes a minstrel! scene;
after which comes tho olio. song and dance.
such show as is, given in any rst-class yari-
ety house in the larger cities. And our show
not be We make only one night stands rarely
fail to have a full house. and have no fancy
s to 0TE artists
mediateiy after the close Of the entertain @
eat Sleep and travel with usso that att they are
always sure Of living, and TIE cash which We
road With us me
the novelty of tho life, SO that taken altogether,
you may understand why our people are Of the
towns often better than moro pretentious en-
tertainments in large cities. Them, too. the
bayous we can provision ourselves for weeks
at q time from the forests.
:, There l. not as much game along the line
fore the recent Hoods, but still there nro plenty
Of deer, turkeys. and ducks Talking about
non last DECEMBER near Herring's Canal. on the
We were tied up at Major Brackenburg's
Im;Cr;nings salute saw that the water was
fairly swarminS with teal ducks s,s.s They ars
Couple Of hsnduls Of old bolts broKen nais
|
aboard rammed them into tho lannon's muz-
Zle and trained it on the thickest part OF the
flock. When the smoke blew away. there were
nineteen stone dead ducks floating. on the
water. q number OF wounded birds flying
slowly away, and half hundred more severely
! got out my rowboat and shot gum and for an
hour padded about on the bayou, gathering
q them, making with the nineteen
shot. We had twenty-four people with us at
that date. and the ducks furnished us with ex-
actly two meals.
:" There. are four windows of stained glass
opening from the stage onto the river, and
from ono OF these windows ut I'ockport. on the
bayou, about seventy miles from the point
where 1t leaves the Mississippi. my wife one
afternoon killed, three full-grown allgators,
which were basking on, the banks. She used
only 2 small Flobert rifle carrying 22-long
gator In the eye to mako afatal shot,
Probably there Is no moro versatile woman
on the river than Mrs French.
First and foremost, and above everything
elso, she Is n mother in everything that the
word implies: she is housekeeper for our big
family OF more than y score Of people; she is
an expert pilot knowing the rivers from Penn
sylvania to louisiana she Is our stage man
ILL